Elisabeth Baugh

CEO of Ovarian Cancer Canada

Elisabeth is the CEO of Ovarian Cancer Canada, the only national charity in Canada that's dedicated to overcoming ovarian cancer. She has been honoured with several awards including WXN’s Canada’s Most Powerful Women: Top 100 Award (honoured on three occasions), the Order of Ontario, Parent/Patient Leadership Award from the Cleft Palate Foundation, the Harold Livergant Award and the Robert Wood Johnson Award, both from the Department of Health Administration, University of Toronto.

Every Canadian has a stake in this issue. All women are at risk for developing ovarian cancer, yet there is no reliable screening test, no vaccine to prevent it. Progress is long overdue and it's about time for government to step up its support.

In 2017, no Canadian would accept discrimination based on such genetically determined factors as sex or skin colour. As a matter of principle and common sense, MPs from all parties should unite to pass Bill S-201, which will make it illegal to discriminate on the basis of one's genes.

Ovarian cancer is the most fatal women's cancer in Canada. Every year, 2,800 Canadian women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer, and every day, five Canadian women die from the disease. While all women are at risk for developing ovarian cancer, certain genetic mutations contribute to increased risk.

With the highest mortality rate of all female cancers, ovarian cancer claims the lives of 1,750 Canadian women every year. In Canada, approximately 2,800 women are diagnosed annually. Yet there is no reliable screening test or vaccine for this disease.